The blog covers releases in the areas of free and mainstream jazz, world music, "art" rock, and the blues. Classical coverage, which was originally here, continues on the Gapplegate Classical-Modern Review (see link on this page). Where are we right now and how did we get here? That's the concern.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Felipe Salles, Ugandan Suite, with David Liebman

The music on today's post is of a very ambitious sort, a suite of music combining jazz and traditional African strains, very successfully so. Felipe Salles and his Ugandan Suite (Tapestry 76023-2) is no joke. It is serious composed-improvised music for sextet.

I am one who has long favored African-jazz meldings, and not just because I am a percussionist-drummer by persuasion who also plays other instruments. It is because the rhythmic complexities of the African mainland lend themselves well to the modern jazz ethos when done properly. Here we do certainly have that.

Felipe Salles composed the music and plays tenor, baritone, flutes and bass clarinet; David Liebman plays wooden flute, soprano and tenor. The two-horn tandem often enough has important composed melodic material and both solo in ways you would expect from Liebman, but also very well for Salles too. Nando Michelin has a fundamental role to play on piano and solos idiomatically and very nicely. The three-person percussion-drum team lay out an excellent rhythmic counterpoint. Damascus Kafumbe and Rogerio Boccato excel at the hand percussion; Bertram Lehmann does a great job on the trap drums. Finally Keala Kaumeheiwa has a central role on acoustic bass, laying down ostinatos with just the right leverage and sometimes playing a melodic role in the compositional passages.

The suite comes at us in five movements. It is a rhythmically vivid, compositionally inventive and soloistically exceptional work and recording. It makes me smile every time I hear it. It will no doubt do the same for you, so grab a copy if you can. An Afro-jazz triumph!

About Me

I am a life-long writer, musician, composer and editor. I wrote for Cadence for many years, a periodical covering jazz and improv music. My combined Blogspot blogs (as listed in the links) now cover well over 3,000 recordings in review. It's been a labor of love. The music is chosen because I like it, for the most part, so you won't find a great deal of nastiness here. I have no affiliations and gain nothing from liking what I do, so that makes me somewhat impartial. I do happen to like a set of certain musics done well, so it's not everything released that gets coverage on these blogs. I have thirteen volumes of compositions available on amazon.com. Just type in "Grego Applegate Edwards" to find them. (But one is under "Gregory Applegate Edwards.") I went to music and higher education schools and got degrees. It changed my life and gave me the ability to think and write better. I've studied with master musicians, too. The benefits I gained from them are invaluable. I appreciate my readers. You are why I write these reviews. I hope the joy of music enriches your life like it does mine. Thank you. And thank you to all the artists that make it possible.